Ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Ferrari made some adjustments to their car as they look to continue to push Red Bull all the way in the title race. Ferrari, who were the early pace setters this season, are staying away from massive overhauls, with tweaks very much their modus operandi as they chase success.
What Ferrari have been able to do is not only ensure they have a race-winning car, which paid off at Silverstone when Carlos Sainz won the race, but they have been able to see what other teams are going and make adjustments and optimisations on the fly. Something which online sports betting markets were the first to react to by cutting the odds on a Ferrari victory in the British Grand Prix, for example.
Subtle changes have always been the theme of the day for Ferrari, and one of the first they made concerned the mirrors on the car. The inboard stalk had been altered at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but at Silverstone, Ferrari decided to go a step further as they drew the outboard mirror stalk further inboard. And what this allows for is additional fins on the mirror casino, creating vortices as a result.
There were also alterations where the sidepods are concerned, which gives reason to believe that Ferrari, currently second in the constructor standings, want to optimise their shape as much as possible in the hope it drives efficiency levels higher. The bodywork and the inlet are shrink-wrapped closer than they have been in the past, leading to a tighter undercut with the sidepod bodywork.
There were also new rear wing designs in play and at the disposal of both Ferrari drivers, Sainz and Charles Leclerc, at Silverstone. The design had been specifically brought to pass to ensure there was lower downforce in the configuration. In addition, the upper wing main plane was flatter, resulting in depowering, another adjustment Ferrari made when heading into the British Grand Prix.
You could suggest that the changes brought into effect ahead of Silverstone worked a treat for Ferrari because, as mentioned above, Sainz crossed the finish line first. And Leclerc wasn’t too far behind in fourth. Formula 1 then travelled to Austria, and this time it was Leclerc who stood atop the podium, grabbing his first victory since Melbourne. It should have been a Ferrari 1-2, but yet again, engine failure issues were a problem, forcing Sainz out of the race.
So, for all the changes Ferrari have made of late, which seem to be paying off in terms of winning races, there is still a lot of work to do on the F1-75. They can’t keep allowing engine failures to cost them. If it wasn’t for these repeated problems, there’s a chance Leclerc would be closer to Max Verstappen in the title race, especially after the early success the Monegasque had.
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